Search for a New Life
by Arianna Arin Cullen
Summary: Arin has been left to take care of her little brother, Edward, when their parents died from the influenza. She meets a doctor named Carlisle, who shows her a new life.
1. Dying

_A/N: This is my first story. This story was placed in 1918 when Edward was dying in the hospital. If you read the last paragraph on my homepage, you will see that it was written from the viewpoint of Arin Cullen, Edward's actual sister. My disclaimer can also be read on my homepage. If there is anything that you would like to see in the next chapter please leave a review. This will help me out a lot._

_Preface_

Hunger is what drives us all. It is the reason that we kill. It is the reason why I was standing in front of these hunters. Here in the center of Volterra.

I was tired of Carlisle's way of life. He was very good at explaining why he lived the way he did, but it just wasn't enough. Why should we change who we are? Life has always been about balance, there is a predator for every prey. A lion won't eat grass just because he feels sorry for the gazelle he hunts. It is his natural food source, why choose something different?

At that moment, I was being led through an antechamber and into a large room. As I entered, I noticed other vampires standing staring at me. They had thoughts and expressions ranging from hostility to disapproval. The one that had led me here was just curious, as if I was just a thing for study. There were a million questions running through his mind. It was driving me insane. I remembered his name was Demetri and I was about to answer one of his unspoken questions when three ancient vampires came into view.

Chapter 1: _Dying _

I had promised my father to keep Edward safe. He was always my first priority. There was no way that I was going to let anything hurt him. He was my little brother. I loved him too much. My father was dying. He knew that Edward would need looking after and he trusted me to do it. He died just a few hours later. Now it was just my mother taking care of both of us.

There had been an influenza outbreak. My mother was the first to show signs after my father died from it. Edward was the next to show signs. He steadily grew worse like my mother. I was relatively okay but the signs had started to show. We decided that the best place to be was in the hospital. All three of us were now laying in hospital beds. There was a blond haired doctor who would come to see us often. It was always at night when he would check on us so I assumed he only worked night shifts. We seemed to be the first people he checked on every night. I think he had taken a liking to my mother.

There was a bad night shortly after we were admitted to the hospital. My mother had gotten worse. I didn't see her making it out of this. When she saw the doctor she set her jaw and glared at him. She told him in one of her commanding voices she used when Edward or I had misbehaved, "Save them!" He then promised he would try. She continued insisting that he do everything in his power. He left with an unhappy look in his eyes. She started to say,"Arianna, I know what he is. He can do what no other doctor can," but I got her settled down. " Mother calm down. He is just a tired doctor, I can tell by the circles under his eyes." She didn't say anything after that She died about an hour later.

Edward had fallen asleep next to me. He looked much worse than I did and I wasn't sure how much longer he would last. "Edward, stay with me," I called. He didn't answer me. I was getting ready to shake him awake when the blond haired doctor came and took my mother away. He had what looked like indecision streaked across his face. He came back and started to wheel Edward away from me. "No, he isn't dead," I tried to protest, but the doctor said,"Shh, it's alright. I'm not taking him to the morgue. You're both coming home with me. Your mother had me promise to do everything in my power to save you and you're only getting worse while you stay here." At this point I started to loose consciousness. He could see this and was becoming relieved. I started to protest again," But wha...," but I was asleep.

When I awoke, I was relieved to see Edward laying next to me. He was still asleep. He was looking worse now. I started to look around and I realized the doctor was sitting in a chair next to me. He smiled at me when I looked at him. "I'm glad you're awake, I didn't know how long you were going to be out," he said as he stood up. I was confused. How long had I been out? "Where are we?" I finally managed to ask. My thoughts were muddled.

"You're in my home. I brought you here last night. Do you remember?" he asked. I nodded my head. He walked around to check on Edward. "Your mother made me promise to do everything in my power to save you both and here was the only place I could do it. I'm Carlisle by the way."

"Arin," I said with a nod. "I remember that. After you left she started spouting things about how she knew what you were and that you could do what no doctor could. I think the fever had finally gotten to her." I was calm now, no longer confused, as the previous nights memories came back to me. I was feeling a little better so I sat up, looking around again, and my eyes rested on the doctor. I realized how beautiful he was. I guess it was in the stress of the hospital that I had never really looked at him. He was so beautiful it made my heart throb painfully. He was like an angel. I was just a little curious to know who this strange beautiful doctor was.

"She wasn't wrong. I have special abilities that no other doctors have, well humans really, " he grimaced. His words broke through my gawking and made me ask," What?"

He smiled at me and said,"Your mother wasn't wrong. I have enhanced abilities."

I stared at him, trying to figure out what he was talking about. "What do you mean enhanced abilities? What kind of abilities?" Was I hearing him right?

"I am a va..," he started to say, but then stopped to stare at me instead, with a slightly hungry look in his eyes. I was getting freaked out. "Why are you staring at me like that?" I felt something wet sliding down my upper lip.

"You have blood running out of your nose and ears," he said in a distressed tone. He started to come towards me, but my head was getting dizzy and I couldn't make out what anything was anymore." Arianna..," he almost yelled, but I couldn't hear him anymore.

Everything was black and I was realizing a burning pain shooting through me like fire.


	2. New Home

Chapter 2: _New Home_

The first thing I realized when I woke, was that I was in pain. I felt like I was on fire. Every inch of me was burning. I opened my eyes and looked up for the first time. I knew screaming was pointless because there was no fire. Then why was I feeling like this? I looked to my right and saw a white wall. I turned my head to look the other way and my eyes became locked in a golden stare.

I couldn't break away from them, they were so beautiful. They looked ancient and sad. The pain eased for one second when I looked into them. I finally was able to break away to see whose eyes they were. The fire increased in intensity as I saw the blond hair and dark circles under the eyes that I associated with the doctor. Carlisle.

I wanted to call out to him but when I opened my mouth, the fire tried to consume me. He saw the pain I was in and said," I'm sorry about this, but I had no choice left. You were dying and I didn't want to lose you." I flickered my eyes to the window to see what time it was. Dark. It must be the middle of the night. How long had I been in this all consuming fire? He saw my eyes go to the window and answered my unspoken question," It is one o'clock in the morning. You've been here for two days. This will take another day at least. I'm very sorry." I could hear the sorrow in his voice as he spoke.

Even with the fire burning me, I could still think clearly. I wanted to know what was happening to me. Why did it feel like I was on fire. I realized the only way I was going to get my answer was to ask Carlisle. I gathered all the strength I could, which wasn't much, and I opened my mouth to speak. " What...," I gasped, the burning was overwhelming," is...happening to... me?" I closed my eyes as tears came gushing out from the effort. I was surely going to die.

He grimaced and answered my question," You were dying. Please do not be alarmed when I say this." He mumbled something that sounded like, " She's going to think I'm crazy..," and then continued." Do you remember when I said I had enhanced abilities?" I blinked, because that was the only thing I could do without the pain threatening to overwhelm me, and he continued. " Well, the reason I have those abilities is because I'm a vampire." He looked at me to gauge my reaction.

I had expected something a little more believable. Maybe a factory worker who had decided to try his hand at medicine. He did look a little young for a doctor, maybe early twenties. I had heard a lot of stories about vampires. The descriptions were very close to what he looked like. Pale, dark circles under the eyes, unbelievably beautiful, and he also looked hungry when the blood was coming out of my nose. Could what he said be true? It all seemed to fit.

I desided to listen to what he said. The pain had lessened enough that I could ask, " Are you really telling me the truth?" He looked at me with sorrow in his eyes again and answered," I'm afraid I am." Alright, he looked like he was telling the truth. It was just so outrageous to think that he was a vampire.

"Don't vampires drink blood and if so, why haven't you killed me or Edward?" Oh my, this was the first time I had thought of him, was he alright? I tried to get up but the fire returned with full force and made the edges of my vision blurry. I knew I was going to be consumed by the fire again but I had to fight. I grabbed his arm and looked at him, he knew I wanted my question answered.

"I don't feed on humans. When I was changed, I still had a shred of humanity left in me. It was enough for me to realize the monster I had become. I was appalled at what I was and I refused to hunt humans."

" Wait a minute, you were changed, but...," realization hit me as I figured out what he was saying," I'm turning into a vampire!"

I suddenly couldn't breathe because the fire was back with full force now. "Arianna, I'm so sorry,'' Carlisle called to me as I closed my eyes and surrendered to the fire.

It felt like I had been in pain for ages. I now knew what was happening to me but it didn't help very much. What would happen to me in the few days Carlisle had said it would take? Would I be different than I was? Did I really want this? Why had Carlisle done this to me, I hadn't even known him for very long. Now that I had thought about it, would it really be that bad?

The pain was lessening now. I could feel it slowly leaving me and I was able to open my eyes. It was dark in the room again and Carlisle wasn't there. I moved my hand to see if the pain was completely gone. It didn't hurt, so I moved to sit up. I looked around me feeling hungry. There was a window set in the north wall with the curtains drawn. The door was on the west wall. I was sitting on the bed next to the south wall and there was a mirror on the east wall. It was the mirror that I walked to now. I heard soft foot steps coming and the door opened right behind me and I turned quickly to see who it was. _Good, she's awake. I need to talk to her about her brother. _That was odd, why was he saying that like I wasn't here? " Yes I'm awake, what did you want to talk about my brother for?" He stopped suddenly and stared at me. _You can hear what I'm thinking?_ There it was again. "What do you mean, what you're thinking, of course I don't know what you're thinking." But wait, his lips didn't move. _How can I hear what you're thinking?_ He started to say," I don't know," and then stopped and looked at me." It seems that you can also speak with your mind," he said. "I wonder if there is anything else you can do?"

"What do you mean speak with my mind? How can I speak with my mind?" He was really making no sense.

"Sometimes, when a person is changed, they gain powers along with heightened senses. Your power, I would guess, is dealing with the mind." His words echoed in my head, what did that involve? I decided to try talking to him with my mind again to find out how much power I had.

_Carlisle, can you hear me, if so think your answer._

_I can hear you. Is there anyone else you can hear?_

There was a faint buzzing in my mind. Voices were everywhere._ Carlisle, I can here many people. _

_Arianna, listen to one voice. _As soon as I listened, a voice I recognized as Edward's, made me jump. It was very loud as if he was screaming. He was saying he was in pain. "Carlisle, where is Edward?"

He looked at me and saw the pain through my eyes. He said," Arianna, I don't want you anywhere near him. Actually, just stay here." Where was he going, why couldn't I see my brother?

"Carlisle, why can't I see him?"

"When you see him, you may try to kill him. I will explain in a moment." I looked at him, stunned. How could he say that to me, I wasn't going to kill my brother. He left the room after making sure I was going to stay there.

I turned to look in the mirror, and stopped dead in my tracks. What was I seeing in the mirror? That surely wasn't me staring back, how could it be? I didn't look like that. I raised my hand to my face and felt my cheek. It was cool beneath my fingertips.

What was staring back at me in the mirror was a red eyed, pale faced creature. If that was really me I would have bright blue eyes.

I accepted the fact that it was me. My facial structure hadn't changed much. My hair was still blond, but my eyes were red. A deep crimson color that you would see on roses. The eyes that stared back frightened me. They were like something out of a nightmare. My skin was pale.

I noticed that my senses were sharper. I could see the imperfections in the woodgrains on the door, the faint lumps on the walls where the paint clumped together. I could hear the faint rustling of Carlisle's footsteps coming back. I could also hear his mind going over the things we had just discussed a few minutes ago. I also noticed a feeling of hunger. I felt like I hadn't eaten in days. I could smell what I believed was Edward, from the other room. He had a certain pine tree smell about him. I had never noticed it before.

Edward's breathing, I noticed for the first time since waking up from the fire, was slow and shallow. I listened to him and I could hear the pain going through his mind. Could I let him become the thing that I was? Could I look into those red eyes forever and think that I hadn't taken anything away from him? The answer was no. I would feel guilty of taking everything away from him, even if he was going to die. But, had I not promised to take care of my brother? Had I not promised my father to keep Edward safe?

Carlisle was thinking about that right now. _What will she say to changing her brother into a monster? Will she be angry with me, for what I did to her? _He came through the door and looked at me for an instant. In that fraction of a second, our eyes met and he understood what I was going to say. "Alright, I'll do it. I just want to know if you really believe that it is the right thing for him, not for you." I thought back to all the years we had grown up together. Would Edward really want to outlive friends and family?

"I'm not really sure what is best for Edward, seeing as I'm not him. I would think that he would accept the second chance at life, but I'm not entirely sure." Would Edward regret the second chance at life?

"I'm glad you can say that. I will change him, I just wanted to know your thoughts before I did it," he said as he looked at me with sad eyes.

I noticed Edward was getting quiet. He was no longer screaming in pain."Carlisle, I can't hear him anymore. He's dying, if you're going to do it you need to do it now." _Please Carlisle, save him. _I was pleading now, hoping that he would hear how strongly I wanted to help my brother.

He dissappeared from the room quickly. I heard his mind racing, trying to remember the steps he had taken to change me. Oh, how I wanted to see my brother. I saw him through Carlisle's mind but it just wasn't the same as seeing him with my own eyes.

I sat back on the bed to wait for Carlisle to return. I had no idea how long this would take because I had been unconscious for my transformation and it wasn't going through Carlisle's mind at the moment. I placed my hand on the post at the end of the bed. I could smell a faint scent of cedar coming off it so I rubbed it to release a stronger scent. I heard a snapping sound and looked at my hand. The end of the post had broken off in my hand. I sat staring at it confused. I hadn't pressed hard on it, why had it snapped? I set the broken piece on the bed and stood up.

The walls were an off white color. The curtains on the window were a dark black. The floor was made of wide wooden boards. I walked to the window to see what time it was. I opened the curtains slightly to look. It was dark outside but I could see a few people walking outside.

It was here that Carlisle found me. I think I was there for a while because he said," Arin, you need to close the curtain, the sun will be coming up in a little while." I did so and then stared at him.

"Carlisle, why won't you let me see my brother? How could I kill him, he's my brother." I had been thinking about it while I was standing at the window. He had said he would explain.

"Do you remember when I said your senses would be heightened?" I nodded and he went on. "Our sense of smell is the most affected by the change. I'm sure that you can smell your brother even in here." Again I nodded and then smiled.

"I never noticed that he smelled like pine before." He smiled back at me, then continued," Arin, the reason our sense of smell is so strong is because we use it to hunt."

"By this, you mean hunt animals, right?" He grimaced at me and started to speak, then stopped and turned toward the door at the same time I did. He looked back at me. _Carlisle please let me see him. He is in pain with no idea what is happening. _He thought about it for a minute. I could see the whole arguement he was having, in his head on wether to let me go or not. _Alright, you can come. There's really nothing you could do to him at this point._ As soon as he thought that I was out the door and racing down the hall. It only took a second which surprised me again.

I opened the door quickly and sat down on the floor next to Edward's bed. The smell of pine was stronger now that I was with him but it didn't bother me as much as Carlisle thought it would.

_Arin help me. It hurts, make the pain stop. It burns. I'm on fire, help me!_ His thoughts were torturing me. I wanted to take all the pain from him. _Edward, please listen to me. You are not on fire. Please, listen to me, you're going to be fine._ I wished there was something I could do for him. I looked up at Carlisle with pleading eyes. He shook his head._ Arianna, there is nothing you can do for him but wait. It will pass soon. I'm hoping that his change will be similar to yours. He will be alright, come with me and I'll tell you more._ He left the room and I heard him going to another part of the room. I stood up and kissed Edward on the forehead. I followed Carlisle to the front of the house.

I found him in the living room sitting in a soft blue chair. I sat opposite him on the sofa.

"I'm going to start at the beginning. There are some places that are easier to show you with my mind." I looked at him and nodded. I knew what he meant, there are many things that you can't figure out how to put in words. I waited for him to put his thoughts in order. He began and I settled down for the story.


End file.
